WHICH COMMODITY GROUP IS THE SAFE HAVEN FOR ISLAMIC STOCK MARKETS?

Abstract

This study analyzes which commodity group has hedging or safe haven characteristics for the Islamic Stock Markets. The spot prices of the S&P GSCI; Industrial Metals, Energy, Precious Metals, Agriculture, and Softs indices were used for the commodity groups analyzed in the study. The research was conducted with 2477 daily data set between March 31st, 2008 and March 29th, 2018 using the Baur and McDermott (2010) model. According to the findings, all commodity groups are safe havens for Islamic Stock Markets. Only the precious metals, however, have both safe haven and risk aversion characteristics. According to these obtained results, both theoreticians and practitioners may develop new investment strategies. In addition, they may offer new investment funds that can be pooled by including the commodities analyzed within the study in different weights.